All About the New York Central Railroad and Others Like The D&H, Lackawanna, The Lehigh Valley, The New Haven Railroad, New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, South Shore Line and other great railroads

Electric Railroads

The original S-1 of 1904. It started off as #6000 and went through several renumberings, the last of which was #100. The S-Motors were followed by the more powerfull T-Motors.

Picture at right was taken in Colonie, New York while the Motor was headed for the American Museum of Electricity

This locomotive was displayed for several years by the M&H Chapter NRHS at the Altamont Fair. It looked the same then.

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Electrification of railroads was never uniform. The disparate voltages, cycles, etc were the result of free enterprise capitalist competition. The competition between PRR, NYNH&HRR, DL&W, NYC, etc was to provide the best service at lowest cost. And, competition between RR Suppliers (notably GE & Westinghouse) for the business, each offering what each thought was the best/cheapest solution.

GE was always a DC oriented company. NYC & PRR, being conservative sort of RRs, picked proven 600VDC technology, much of it from GE. NYNH&HRR being a tad more adventurous, and with longer distances to be electrified (Boston in 1907…) picked the high tech, untried HVAC (11kv/25), largely from Westinghouse.

There was MUCH yelling and screaming in the technical press at the time. Westinghouse/NH made HVAC work. Despite all the posturing, the differences between the two were small, in efficiency/economic terms. EITHER was way better than steam, in energy efficiency or any other measure.

PRR could see this and eventually adopted 11KV. By the 1930’s, GE had developed rectifier technology to the point where they sold DL&W on 3kv dc, which worked fine until worn out and then they moved to 25KVAC. By 1970 or so the technology of 60Hz had advanced enough to make it practical at 11kv for the NY&LB electrification (which PRR had not completely wired) and 25KV for the ex DL&W. Modern equipment makes the voltage change over trivial if designed for it. Remember, NYNH&H & Westinghouse made DC and AC work on the same locomotive or EMU in 1907….

I’ve tried to collect some notes on electrified railroads. It is in rough chronological order & sticking to main lines…

New York Central

New Haven

NYNH&HRR

11kvac/600vdc

1907-14

New York, New Haven & Hartford RR

1912

New York, Westchester & Boston RR

New Haven was 25Hz from Cos Cob.
NH under PC was 25 Hz from Cos Cob.
ConnDoT/MN was 25 Hz from Cos Cob, until they switched to 60 Hz.
In the New York City area, the catenary voltage changes from the ex-PRR 11kV/25 Hz to the ex-NH 11kV/60 Hz about 174st Street in the Bronx.
This oversimplifies.
MOST of NH trackage was fed from Cos Cob.
Some bits used commercial power but, I think from NYC RR, who used 25 Hz to run the rotaries that ran the third rail.
I’d have to check to see which powered NY Connecting.
That location was also the feed for the NY Boston, and Westchester RR.
As far as I know the substation still exists to this day.
Location is near the CrossBronx Expressway and the former NH tracks.
This location by the way fed from Market (hunts Point Yard) to possibly Port Chester and the connection to Williams Bridge on the Harlem Division of the NYC at the power change point (NR tower).
After the PC merger with New Haven, GG1s started going to New Haven.
At Shell (Saugatuck), operation is to COAST ACROSS the bridge and pick up the wire on the other side.
NH pans would not go above a certain limit and would run under the rewiring horns.
The PRR pans on the GG1 could, and DID go higher (high enough to be ABOVE the rewiring horns on the far side….

Great Northern

Great Northern

11kvac

1909

Great Northern Ry Cascade Tunnel

A two-wire, three phase system was converted to a more-conventional 3000V AC/3 phase system in 1929.

Pennsylvania

PRR

600v dc

1905-13

Long Island RR

1906

West Jersey & Seashore RR

1910

Pennsylvania RR Penn Station approach

1915

Pennsylvania RR Philadelphia Suburban Main Line

1925-29

Long Island RR extensions

1970-1990

LIRR Mineola-Huntington and Hicksville-Ronkonkoma

Long Island was included because of similarity and because LIRR was owned by PRR in those days when electrification was begun.

Michigan Central

Michigan Central RR

600v dc

1910

Michigan Central RR Detroit River Tunnel

Similar to New York Central, but Michigan Central was separate at time.

Butte, Anaconda, & Pacific RR

Butte, Anaconda, & Pacific RR

2400v dc

1913

Butte, Anaconda, & Pacific RR

Great Northern

GN

3,000VAC/3 phase

This was for the second Cascade Tunnel and eliminated 8 miles of snowsheds as well as five complete circles.
Dieselization eliminated in 1956.

Norfolk & Western

N&W

11kvac

1915+

Norfolk & Western (portion)

Virginian

Virginian

11kvac

1920+

Virginian (portion)

Boston & Maine

B&M

11kvac

1911

Boston & Maine RR Hoosac Tunnel

Pennsylvania

PRR

11kvac

1928

Pennsylvania RR West Chester and Wilmington lines

1930

Pennsylvania RR Norristown and Trenton lines

1935

Pennsylvania RR New York-Washington

1938

Pennsylvania RR Harrisburg extension

Canadian National

CN

1200vdc

1908

Grand Trunk RR St Clair Tunnel

1912

Canadian Northern Mount Royal tunnel

Reading

RDG

11kv/ac

1930

Reading Company Philadelphia suburban service

Illinois Central

IC

1500vdc

South Shore uses 1500 v dc (same as Illinois Central.)

1926

Illinois Central RR Chicago suburban service

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western

DL&W

3000vdc

1905

Morris and Essex

1931

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR commuter lines

NJT’s ex-EL lines were re-electrified as 25,000 volts, 60 Hz.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee Electric had some 1200v segments;
for a while they had 3300 v ac at the outer end of the Watertown line.

1915

Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific RR Rocky Mountain Division

1920

Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific RR Coast Division

1927

Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific RR Black River Jct-Seattle

Black Mesa & Lake Powell

New Jersey Transit

NJT

25kvac/60 (see also NY&LB, DL&W, PRR)

ex-PRR lines and the Matawan extension are running at 12,000 V, 25 Hz
25 Hz is far from dead.
Amtrak recently replaced the BG&E converters at Jericho Park with solid state frequency converters.
SEPTA did likewise at Wayne Jct.
The advent of the solid-state equipment eliminates some of the objections to 25 Hz: unreliability and power losses in the converters. The biggest chunk of money that was not spent by not changing the NEC power from NYC south was the money that would have been needed to convert portions of SEPTA’s and NJT’s EMU fleet to run off of the new voltage/frequency. The Jersey Arrows that run on the ex EL lines were built from scratch to run on those lines, and don’t have the same electrical innards as the Jersey Arrows that run on the NEC. The Jersey Arrows are in 3 series: the Arrow I, bought when still PRR, Arrow II, and finally the Arrow IIIs ordered in the late 70’s and delivered through the 80’s. The 3 series was bought for both EL and NEC service with 25kv in mind. The transformer has 12.5 and 25 kv taps but must be changed in the shop and not on the fly. I don’t believe either the Arrow 1 or 2 series can run under 25 kv. The Arrow 1’s are so worn out they may be scrapped, if not converted to loco hauled/push pull coach.
The Arrow 3 fleet was just overhauled and includes AC motor propulsion.

New York & Long Branch

NY&LB

11Kvac/60 cycle

1930+

New York & Long Branch (Rahway to South Amboy)

1980+

New York & Long Branch (South Amboy to Matawan)

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Electric on the New Haven

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Milwaukee Railroad BiPolar Locomotive

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#278, a T3a built by GE at Erie in 1926 and was the last T-motor to operate. It is the only one left in existence. It was acquired by the Mohawk & Hudson Chapter NRHS in 1980 and restored by members.

Here are a couple of screen prints from the movie #278 “starred” in.

It was a star in a movie made in Grand Central in the mid to late 80’s. The movie was called “The House on Sullivan Street”. (Later renamed “The House on Carroll Street”)The House on Carroll Street“) It has a Hitchcock like finale in the movie The House on Carrol Street (1985), director Peter Yates. The action is supposed to take place in the mid 1950s. Kelly Mc Gillis and Jeff Daniels star.

T-3a #278 was last used in PC service in Sunnyside Yard, Long Island, NY for service in the wire train on the ex PRR east river & Hudson river tunnels,as they could operate on the 650 volt third rail while the 11,000 overhead AC catenary was turned off,as diesels were not allowed at this time.

A question from the NYC-RR forum at Yahoo

For the purists in the group, I don’t think it’s totally accurate to refer to T3a 278 as a General Electric locomotive as does this web page . I have seen more documentation (NYC records) for the S motors than the T motors, but they are usually referred to as Alco-GE products. GE supplied the electric gear, while American built the carbody and the running gear. Much like the Alco-GE diesels of the late 1940s. I wonder also if 278 was built at Erie Pa as the web page states. My understanding is that the electric gear was built there, but the carbody work plus final assembly was done at the Schenectady Works of American Locomotive.

Our Response

I’m afraid some of my (General Electric) prejudice showed in referring to T3a 278 as a General Electric locomotive, without first verifying facts. However that specific quote came to me, along with some pictures of 278, from Joseph D. Thompson of the Mohawk & Hudson Chapter NRHS when I made a contribution to the restoration of 278.

I have seen more documentation for the S motors than the T motors also. I’ll share with you what I do know:

From 1940 to 1953, Alco and GE combined their locomotive sales forces and marketed their products under the joint Alco-GE name. For many years the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) had been supplying General Electric with mechanical assemblies used in the successful freight motor locomotive production for straight-electric trolley and interurban rail lines. This relationship went back to about 1898 when the General Electric Traction Department was located in the vicinity of the Schenectady Locomotive Works (it didn’t become the American Locomotive Company until 1901).

The S motors definitely came from city of Schenectady as the General Electric Main Plant/Schenectady Works is the other end of Schenectady’s Erie Boulevard: about a mile from where ALCO was. The motors were built in like building 16 or building 18 at the Main Plant. Testing was done in nearby Scotia/Glenville on tracks parallel to NY Central Mohawk Division (just TimeTable West of Sandbank Yard). Note: normal ALCO test spot was NY Central’s Troy & Schenectady.

Now, between the S Motor and the T Motor General Electric opened in 1911 a plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. As best I know, the DC Motor Department and the Locomotive Department moved there. Know they had an electrified test track (part of GE subsidiary East Erie Commercial Railroad).

That means General Electric COULD have built T Motor in Erie. After all, they had the experience. In 1893, the General Electric Company, itself only a year old, had completed it’s first electric locomotive.

As an aside, the General Electric Main Plant (Schenectady Works) was much bigger than the Erie Plant or the American Locomotive plant. In fact, it was second only in size to Ford’s River Rouge plant in Dearborn Michigan. Schenectady could honestly say it was “The city that lights and hauls the World”.

This is a 1967 picture that was used by Joe Thompson of the M&H Chapter of the NRHS for fund raising. Note the different paint scheme.

If one looks at the most popular Pages on our WebSite, over half directly reference the Maybrook Line. Lot’s of folks have an interest in it. The “Maybrook Line” was important to New England before the advent of Penn Central and before the Poughkeepsie Bridge burned. This piece of the railroad carried freight from Maybrook Yard, across the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Hopewell Junction where it joined a line from Beacon. The railroad then went to Brewster, then Danbury, and finally to Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven.

WHY and How To Fix The “MAYBROOK LINE”?

Container port/intermodal facility/rail bridge

The construction of a railroad bridge between New Hamburg and Marlboro is likely the least expensive place to build a Hudson River crossing between Manhattan and Albany. The stone for ramps, sand and gravel for concrete and a steel beam assembly and storage area would be right on sight. All materials and equipment could be transported by barge or boat. The bridge itself would have only four or five piers (the most costly part to build) since the Hudson River is about the same width as it is in Poughkeepsie.

The Hudson River component connects Dutchess, Ulster and Orange counties to the world economy (finished goods, spare parts, components parts, raw materials, food stuffs) and the railroad and interstate road components connect these NY counties to the rest of North America (US, Mexico, Canada).

With the container port/intermodal facility/rail bridge, the flow in and out of raw materials, spare parts, partially finished goods, foodstuffs and components will allow for new industries and businesses to locate near this facility and add to the tax base of these three NY counties: Dutchess, Ulster and Orange counties.

Although the Dutchess County Airport is a tiny regional airport with a 5,000 foot runway, it has some big potential. The airport land extends a mile Northeast of the present runway end at New Hackensack Road and borders on the former New Haven Maybrook Line/Dutchess Rail Trail. As the NY Air National Guard gets crowded out by international air traffic at Stewart International Airport their operation could be moved over to Dutchess Airport without disrupting the lives of the guard members and their families through forced relocation.

Beacon itself is exploding with “developer” activity, and it needs a trolley or light rail for the city only to transform back into a pedestrian oriented city.

Other activities include: Solidization of rail links in Connecticut to handle increased traffic; a possible HYPERLINK for improved service along the Beacon Line and in/out of New York City

Now you are going to ask. What does the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority have to do with the “BEACON LINE”? IT OWNS IT! Must realize that NYCMTA is a “regional” organization. With all that went on with Penn-Central and CONRAIL somebody had to own it!

So what would a “revised” rail line look like?

To begin with, the line from Maybrook to the Hudson River is gone. Railroads that previously entered Maybrook can reach the Hudson River and head up the old West Shore to the proposed bridge at New Hamburg. But the old Poughkeepsie Bridge is no longer in service, as well as the tracks to Hopewell Junction. At Marlboro, trains would take the old New York Central Hudson Division to Beacon, New York. Yes, with both Metro North and Amtrak using the Hudson Line, it may require an additional track.

From Beacon trains would travel the Beacon Line over the Housatonic Railroad to Derby-Shelton, Connecticut. Trains would go to Cedar Hill Yard. Some traffic may go to Long Island. With traffic revitalized, other trains will even go to Waterbury!

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The Trolley Bus

Trolley buses are still with us in San Francisco, Seattle, SanRemo, Italy (pictured above) and many other places. They are quiet, have great pickup, don’t have any diesel exhaust and have low maintenance costs. I once asked a friend in the GE transportation products business in Erie, PA (where the GE locomotives are made) why there aren’t more trolley buses out there in many cities. He said that when one sells a trolley bus, he has to make his profit on the sale of the bus. There will be little profits in spare parts and maintenance supplies after the sale. But when one sells a diesel bus, he makes his profit on the maintenance supplies, so the initial selling price of diesel bus need not include much, if any, profit. Since everyone today buys on first cost, the diesels get all the business. Now that the price of oil is going up, and the availability of oil is subject to the whims of the Mid-East, the trolley bus may yet become very popular. It doesn’t pollute and the electrical energy to drive it can be produced economically, without pollution, from nuclear energy. In fact, it would be feasible to put wires over the interstate highway system and use electrically propelled tractors and buses rather than diesels. SanRemo, Italy (pictured above) and many other places. They are quiet, have great pickup, don’t have any diesel exhaust and have low maintenance costs. I once asked a friend in the GE transportation products business in Erie, PA (where the GE locomotives are made) why there aren’t more trolley buses out there in many cities. He said that when one sells a trolley bus, he has to make his profit on the sale of the bus. There will be little profits in spare parts and maintenance supplies after the sale. But when one sells a diesel bus, he makes his profit on the maintenance supplies, so the initial selling price of diesel bus need not include much, if any, profit. Since everyone today buys on first cost, the diesels get all the business. Now that the price of oil is going up, and the availability of oil is subject to the whims of the Mid-East, the trolley bus may yet become very popular. It doesn’t pollute and the electrical energy to drive it can be produced economically, without pollution, from nuclear energy. In fact, it would be feasible to put wires over the interstate highway system and use electrically propelled tractors and buses rather than diesels.

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RAILROAD POWER PLANTS

One of the interesting sides to electric railways (mainline, interurban, subway, whatever) are the power plants that go along with them. One of the best known is the early 20th Century New Haven plant at Cos Cob. Located on the old NY,NH&H mainline between New York and Stamford, its big Westinghouse generators fed 11,000 volts of AC power to four owners. As well as powering catenary for thousands of freight and passenger trains, it was known as the polluter of the Greenwich “Gold Coast”. The coal ash was known as “Cos Cob snow” before the coal boilers were traded in for oil and gas. It was thought to be obsolete in 1956 but continued to operate. Near failures in 1981 forced an upgrade, but it was finally retired. It was designated a National Engineering Landmark in 1982.

Cos Cob delivered power at one end from Sunnyside Yard on the Pennsylvania system as far as Cedar Hill Yard just north of New Haven. Its 700 kv. of power went over 132 miles of power lines and 24 miles of power cables in order to support 89 miles of railroad. The 344 miles of signaled track had 1718 transformers to operate 940 track circuits, 1215 signal arms and 133 switch units. There were 36 interlocking towers with 1245 working levers. Non-motive power requirements ranged from 700 watts for a switch motor to 0.144 watts for a tower indicator.

While the New Haven had one power plant for the entire 82 electrified miles, the New York Central had several because it used DC instead of AC. One was once right in Grand Central Terminal. A large power plant was on the Hudson at Glenwood. Later operated by Consolidated Edison, it is now abandoned. One electrified line went to North White Plains while another went to Croton North on the Hudson River. As well as the Grand Central Terminal complex, the West Side Freight Line was electrified from Spuyten Duvyil south to the 33rd Street yard.

Power requirements on the New York Central were also significant. At one point, over 100 electric motors (locomotives) were in service. Best known were the pioneer Class S and the subsequent Class T which pulled passenger trains in and out of Grand Central. In addition, there were Class R freight motors and Class Q switchers. Later on, Class P-2A motors took over most of the passenger work. Their six big GE traction motors developed over 4200 horsepower, had 8 running speeds, and could reach 70 m.p.h. In addition, several hundred M-U cars were operated daily.

The Hudson Tubes (Hudson & Manhattan Railroad now PATH) built a Jersey City powerhouse in 1908. It was 200 by 200 feet and 100 feet high and was ungainly in form but exquisite in detail. The south side had four giant stacks and held the steam boiler apparatus. The central tower was used for lifting coal. The north side contained the turbines behind a giant window. The station was designed to produce 18,000 kilowatts which was adequate for the original 140 cars. The system began to buy commercial power after World War II and the equipment was scrapped but the building still remains.

New York City subways even had a monumental power house – the old IRT plant at 59th Street and 11th Avenue. Built in 1904 for $7 million; it had 132,000 horsepower and burned 1,000 tons of coal a day (unloaded from the river at the 12th Avenue frontage). When built, it was the largest steam-driven power plant in the world but was soon technically obsolete as it used reciprocating steam engines instead of turbines. It was sold to Consolidated Edison in 1959 and still supplies some of the subway electricity.

The old Pennsylvania RR did not build its own power plants but instead purchased 13,200 volt, 25 cycle single phase power from four utility companies. It was supplied at seven points from 17 generators and frequency changers. Six supply point substations stepped it up to 132-kv. Railroad-owned substations contained transformers and switchgear to control the power to and from the 11,000 volt catenary, 132-kv transmission lines, and the 6600 volt signal system. The entire PRR system was controlled from a central load dispatching office in Philadelphia. The load dispatcher coordinated operations of power directors in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Harrisburg as well as the four utilities.

No discussion of electric power would be complete without mention of the Milwaukee Road. Their Rocky Mountain Division was supplied by the Montana Power Company from their Missouri River hydro plant. The western end of this division was supplied from Columbia River hydro power. The Coast Division was also supplied by hydro power from two utilities. The railroad had to build over 600 miles of 1000-kv AC transmission lines to deliver power to isolated substations.

SEPTA AFTER A BLIZZARD

(Rare Postcard)

March 15, 1993. Resting in the yards of SEPTA’s ex-P&W Norristown High Speed Line after battling the blizzard of ’93 are venerable Bullet car 206 and successor N-5 prototype 451. The electronic three-phase drives and steering axles of 451 place it in the vanguard of modern car designs.

Photo by R.E.Jackson

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Amtrak E60 Electric
Amtrak No. 603 (originally No. 964)
Class E60. Built by General Electric in 1976. Gift January 2004 of Amtrak to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

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New York to Boston Electrification

Amtrak is electrifying tracks from New Haven to Boston (New York to New Haven is already electric) as part of a $1.9 billion project to upgrade the New York-Boston portion of the Northeast Corridor.

Concern that freight service will suffer in an already weakened New England economy is surfacing. There are forty-seven businesses along the Connecticut and Rhode Island shore line. Included are Electric Boat, Pfizer and Millstone nuclear plant. Some, like Atlantic Wire Co. of Branford, CT have returned to rail after several years of service by truck. Many of these are served by the Providence and Worcester Railroad which is concerned if train control computers can find room enough for all the trains. What they are really saying is will Amtrak pay for new sidings and upgrade of clearances? P&W feels 19-foot clearances should be increased to 21 feet to accommodate tri-level freight cars. This will help land additional port business.

Amtrak is planning to add approximately 16 express trains each direction by 1997. This is in addition to between 10 and 12 now operating each way.

In 1955 over 20 New Haven trains operated each way on the New York – Boston route. They didn’t even use computers then and served a lot more than 47 businesses. Passenger times between New York and Boston ran around four hours as compared to about four and a half now. The intent is to get under three hours.

A second Boston airport is the alternative to this upgrade. The intent is to attract passengers with economical, high speed service and provide a better alternative than flying.

New Rochelle has received a boost from Amtrak’s decision to continue to use its downtown station and invest $92 in improvements. It is the only Westchester stop on the Northeast Corridor. Joint use with Metro-North frequently results in delays and congestion. Amtrak expects high speed service will result in station stops to increase from 4 to 18 and passenger volume to double to 160,000 annually. While the station will receive new ticket windows, self-ticketing, disabled accommodations and more seating, the biggest changes will be in trackwork. Amtrak has to cross over three sets of tracks now. Center island platforms are planned. The most expensive ($65 million) part of the plan involves building a flyover where Amtrak will cross over Metro-North tracks. Talk will begin on a parking garage. Metro-North wants 1000 spots and Amtrak 300. The renovated station will also accommodate buses and airport limousines.

New Haven’s station has recently been upgraded with new platforms with elevators and is a major Metro-North Commuter Railroad terminal. In addition, it is the terminal of the Shore Line East commuter system. Shops are being modernized to maintain Shore Line East locomotives and coaches as well as the Metro-North New Haven Line rolling stock. It currently serves as the power (electric to/from diesel) change point for Amtrak.

Stamford is also a major Metro-North terminal where more than half the trains on the New Haven line terminate. Storage tracks are being added and additional platforms including elevators and escalators are in the works. Currently expresses stop at the same tracks where locals terminate. Metro-North is building a maintenance shop and a car washer here.

Sunnyside Yard, just across the East River from Penn Station; as well as Boston’s South Station, will continue as major Amtrak servicing facilities.

Commuter lines utilizing the Northeast Corridor are Metro-North between New Haven and New Rochelle, Shore Line East between Old Saybrook and New Haven and the MBTA which operates from Boston to Providence.

Concrete ties are being installed on parts of the shore line route that didn’t have them installed a few years ago. High speed crossovers (80 mph) are also being installed in preparation of electrification and high speed train service. Equipment is still being considered. There have been several experiments with trains that can better handle the curves as the roadbed follows the shore line. Some of these tests have been with the X-2000 trainset that toured the country recently. The “Peck” movable bridge in Bridgeport is being replaced. This four track and its half-mile long viaduct approaches will be completed by 1998.

While most of the emphasis has been on passenger service, freight should not be ignored. In Rhode Island, more than 120 miles of track have been abandoned. Only 12 lines with 145 miles remain with much of this being the Amtrak Corridor. The Corridor Improvement Project requires that connecting tracks be modernized or abandoned and no money seems to exist. Factors affecting Rhode Island rail service include deferred maintenance, government subsidy of other transportation modes and the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy.

Some cities had multiple transit companies that operated the PCCs, like Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railways in that city.

Louisville’s PCCs never ran in revenue service; they were sold to Cleveland shortly after delivery. And speaking of Cleveland, add the City of Shaker Heights,which was a separate operation from the Cleveland city system.

The greatest number of PCCs, though, operated in Eastern Europe. The Czech carbuilder Tatra produced well over 10,000 PCCs,many of which are still operating. Some Western European carbuilders used the PCC patents, too, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Some cities ( or suburban areas) operated cars which employed a modified PCC body, though some of the cars ( particularly the 1949 St Louis PCC type interurbans operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company—or Red Arrow Lines) were non PCC in their operating components. Additionally, Atlantic City operated the largest fleet of Brilliners ( Brill’s attempt to build a car which would compete with the PCC), though Baltimore and Cincinnati had one Brilliner each, and Philadelphia’s PTC had three. The Red Arrow had 10 double ended high speed versions of the Brilliner which actually outlasted all of the others by more than 20 years– except for No 10 which was wrecked in 1963– ( and they outlasted most PCC cars as well) being retired in 1971 by SEPTA.

Washington DC—- the only fleet of PCC Cars to operate using the undeground conduit current collection system.

By the time the PCC car was placed into production, the financial state of traction companies was such, that many companies that didn’t purchase new PCCs, but were able to survive into the 1950’s were able to acquire used PCCs from companies that bustituted their PCC equipped streetcar lines. Philadelphia, for instance, in addtion to the very large fleet of new PCCs it acquired, purchased second hand PCCs from St. Louis ( the city) and Kansas City. Some of the Dallas PCC’s wound up in Boston, and Toronto’s fleet included former Kansas City PCC Cars and former Birmingham ( Ala) cars—some of which wound up in Philly after the late 1970’s Woodland Depot fire.

Car #451 is a double truck, double-ended, PCC streetcar built in 1949 by the St. Louis Car Company. It is equipped with all electric controls, four 55 hp General Electric 1220 E1 motors, B-3 trucks, and MFR-WAB track brakes.

The car was operated by the Illinois Terminal Railroad and ran between St. Louis, MO and Granite City, Illinois. The car was acquired by the museum in 1963 and was leased to the Shaker Heights division of the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority for three years. 451 was completely restored by them and returned to the Connecticut Trolley Museum in working condition.

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What is a catenary?

A catenary on an electrified railroad is the overhead structure, consisting of cross and longitudinal wires and cables, which holds the electrically charged trolley wire in firm position at an approximately uniform elevation above the track.

What is a pantagraph?

A pantagraph is a device attached to an electric locomotive or to the roof of a passenger car to collect electric current from an overhead trolley wire. Its function corresponds to that of a trolley arm on a street car. It consists of a collapsible, diamond-shaped, jointed frame operated by springs or compressed air, and having a suitable collector, or trolley contact, at the top.